The cave's chill bit deeper than winter frost as Li Jingyan stared at the dissipating golden projection. Charred remnants of the Ten-Thousand Mile Shadow Talisman crumbled between his fingers, its forbidden magic lingering like poisoned honey on his tongue.
"Fool." The word echoed from memory, the phantom's voice still caressing his rage. "Your master discards you like broken jade. Will you grovel forever?"
Crimson Calculations
Beyond the penitence cave's silencing arrays, Shu Mountain's peaks glowed with deceptive serenity. Li Jingyan's nails carved fresh grooves into meditation stone already scarred by decades of disciples' frustrations.
Replace the Sword Saint. The heresy burned brighter with each replay. His gaze drifted to the training grounds where Sun Xiaolan's laughter danced with sword gleam—a melody forever beyond reach.
"Brother Zhao's shadow stretches long," he murmured, tracing the phantom's whispered technique on his thigh. Dark veins pulsed beneath skin where forbidden qi had taken root.
Sword Saint's Gambit
In the Hall of Severed Reflections, Li Lingfeng's fingers whitened around the Buddha bead. Dragon Echo Temple's summons pulsed with old friend Tianyin's voice, each syllable weighted with unspoken warnings.
"Disciple Sun." The Sword Saint's call summoned swirling leaves that coalesced into his newest apprentice. "You'll carry Shu Mountain's honor to the western peaks."
Sun's protest died beneath her master's raised palm. "Jingyan's... indiscretion leaves few choices. But fear not—" His smile held winter's edge. "—Stormcaller Zhao's thunder shall shield you."
Fractured Loyalties
Dawn painted the departure plaza in hues of betrayal. Li Jingyan watched from high parapets as preparations unfolded—Sun's jade hairpin catching light, Zhao's casual power as he tested flight formations, Dun Che's vulpine grin promising chaos.
"Going somewhere?" The phantom's voice slithered from shadows untouched by sun.
Li Jingyan didn't turn. "Your technique... it whispers of the Blood Moon Heresy."
Laughter decayed into coughing fits. "Labels are chains for small minds. Will you watch them leave? Let her slip through fingers again?"
Below, Sun's sleeve brushed Zhao's arm. Li Jingyan's meridians flared black.
Caravan of Broken Oaths
The journey westward became a study in contrasts:
Day 1: Sun's novice attempts at cloud-riding dissolved into Zhao's steadying armsNight 2: Dun Che's drunken ballads shook constellations from alignmentDawn 5: Zhao's increasing restlessness as moonless nights stretched thinner
At the Jade Pass checkpoint, reality fractured.
"Papers." The guard's nasal demand froze mid-syllable.
Zhao's hand blurred. "Demonic puppetry."
The "guard" collapsed into sawdust and scorpion shells.
Whispers in the Wastes
That night at a haunted waystation, Sun confronted the storm in Zhao's eyes.
"You've killed twelve such puppets since Shu." Her healing glow illuminated fresh claw marks on his forearm. "They seek something you carry."
Zhao rotated the dormant Tomb Passage Token. "Not seek. Fear."
Dun Che's tail bristled. "Fox noses smell buried truths. These puppets reek of familiar spite."
Echoes of the Forgotten
Dragon Echo Temple's gilded gates rose like accusation. Abbot Tianyin's greeting hands bore prison-calloused palms.
"Li Lingfeng sends children to a war council." His laugh rattled prayer beads. "Come, see what true darkness gathers."
The meditation pavilion's floor opened, revealing star charts rewritten in blood. Constellations formed a familiar sigil—Shu Mountain's silhouette pierced by obsidian claws.
Epiphany's Blade
Zhao's token flared as Tianyin spoke the forbidden name. "The Shadowed Hammer reforges celestial chains. Your lunar key..."
"...isn't broken," Zhao finished, watching Li Jingyan's face flicker across Sun's borrowed sword. "Merely awaiting proper moonlight."
As night's first true stars emerged, the token's hunger returned—directed not skyward, but northeast toward Shu's penitence caves.